The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• ‘President’s’ Scholarships to Support Burmese Wanting to Study Abroad
• Burma’s Lower House Forms Committee on Proportional Representation
• Govt Disagrees With UN Rights Envoy’s Burma Concerns
• Police in Shan State Seize Valuable Haul of Opium, Guns
• Emergency Response Teams Deployed on Burma’s ‘Death Highway’
• Military MP Blames Sanctions for Opium Cultivation
• New Zealand PM Welcomes Burma Reforms, But Constitution an Issue
• Rape Is Not Just a Crime; It Is a Weapon
• Why the State ‘Is Still Incredibly Weak’
• Abu Sayyaf Gunmen Kill 21 Filipinos in Road Attack
• Philippines Welcomes Its 100 Millionth Citizen
• Kerry to Woo Modi’s India, But Quick Progress Unlikely

‘President’s’ Scholarships to Support Burmese Wanting to Study Abroad Posted: 29 Jul 2014 05:37 AM PDT Burma President Thein during a televised address in March 2013. (Photo: President's Office website) RANGOON — The Burmese government announced it will be offering scholarships for outstanding students who want study under- and postgraduate courses at international universities. It will reportedly be the first time in five decades that the government offers support for Burmese students to study abroad. Called the President's Scholarship Awards, the program will offer students aged between 16 and 20 years and with matriculation exam scores of 500 and above a chance to study undergraduate courses, an announcement by the Ministry of Education said on Tuesday. The full-page announcement in state-run media said people of all ages are invited to apply for international postgraduate studies. Those with an honor's degree and postgraduate diploma can apply for a master's degree scholarship, and those who have a master's degree can apply for a doctorate degree. The deadline for applications is Aug. 31. "Among applicants, the first selection list will be announced in the state-run newspaper and then the required testing processes will take place step by step. After that the committee formed together with international experts will choose the finalists," the announcement said. Those who receive a scholarship are obliged to work in government jobs after their return for twice the duration of their scholarship, or repay triple the amount they received for their scholarship, it added. Several Education Ministry officials contacted by The Irrawaddy were unable to specify how many scholarship places would be offered and how much money would be made available for the program. President Thein Sein personally planned the scholarship program and announced it in his monthly radio address in February. "Future generations can have long-lasting educational opportunities, and also study subjects that will benefit the development of the country," he said. Tin Hlaing, a member of the Rangoon University Renovation and Upgrading Committee, which is tasked with reforming the institution, said the new program was a historic as it had been more than 50 years since the government lasts provided a scholarship to study abroad that is open to all Burmese students. "Since 1963, there has been no such scholarship offered by the government," he said, adding that scholarships to study abroad had since only been offered to Burmese citizens by foreign governments and universities. The former junta offered occasional support for government officials and officers wanting to study abroad. The Burma Army seized power in 1962 and consecutive military governments grew increasingly xenophobic, isolating the country and stifling its social and economic development. President Thein Sein's nominally civilian government took over from the junta in 2011 and introduced sweeping political and social reforms. Tin Hlaing said Burma would need to send thousands of students abroad in order to boost education levels among the population and strengthen higher education institutions. "We need to send at least 1,000 scholars," he said. "I would like to see 5,000 scholars [sent abroad] every year, but since [the scholarship program] just started the numbers will probably be small. Next year, I expect it to increase." Tin Hlaing said he understood that the government required those who receive a scholarship to perform government jobs for some time, adding, however, that the government should respect the exact conditions set out in the scholarship agreement. The post 'President's' Scholarships to Support Burmese Wanting to Study Abroad appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burma’s Lower House Forms Committee on Proportional Representation Posted: 29 Jul 2014 04:26 AM PDT A session in Burma's Union Parliament in Naypyidaw in 2012. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) The Burmese Parliament's Lower House will form a commission to discuss the proportional representation (PR) electoral system, lawmakers said, after three days of heated debate on the proposal to change how future governments are elected. Lawmakers in Naypyidaw discussed the issue after Aung Zin, a lawmaker from the small political party National Democratic Force, proposed a switch to the system. The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party has come out in support of PR, while ethnic minority parties and the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) oppose changing from the current first-past-the-post system. Lower House speaker Shwe Mann on Tuesday said that a commission involving experts will be formed to discuss the proposal, according to lawmakers. "The house speaker [Shwe Mann] reaffirmed his promise made to ethnic lawmakers that he would act fairly on the ethnic groups' concerns," said Khin Saw Wai, a lawmaker from Rathaetaung constituency in Arakan State. She said the speaker did not elaborate on how the commission will be formed and who it will include. "I hope it will include experts on the electoral system, not necessarily lawmakers," she added. A PR proposal has already been approved by the Upper House, which set up its own commission, made up of lawmakers, to consider the system. But the proposal has sparked lively debate in the Lower House this week and last, with some ethnic members of Parliament boycotting sessions at which it was discussed. Khin Saw Wai said that about an equal number of lawmakers spoke in support and in opposition of the proposal. More than 40 MPs spoke in total on Thursday, Monday and Tuesday, including three military representatives who discussed the proposal without taking a clear side, she said. The proposal's author, Aung Zin, told The Irrawaddy earlier this month that he thought PR should be only used in the central Burmese regions or divisions, while the states, where most ethnic minorities live, should continue to use first past the post. NLD lawmakers have argued that the whole country should use the same electoral system. Opponents have also argued that PR puts the focus of elections on the party not the candidate. During the three days of debate, a military representative argued that PR would make it more likely that "extremists" could win seats in Parliament, according to lawmakers. Min Thu, an NLD lawmaker from Naypyidaw's Oattarathiri Township, said the NLD was also opposed to the proposal because it could sideline smaller ethnic parties. "The use of PR could affect ethnic MPs in the ethnic states, and only those ethnic representatives who are members of powerful parties might get a chance to win." The post Burma's Lower House Forms Committee on Proportional Representation appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Govt Disagrees With UN Rights Envoy’s Burma Concerns Posted: 29 Jul 2014 04:14 AM PDT Yanghee Lee speaks to reporters in Rangoon at the end of her 10-day visit to Burma on Saturday. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A senior Burmese government official has pushed back against a statement from the United Nations on Monday, in which its human rights envoy to Burma warned that the country risked backtracking on political reforms and urged the government to allow more freedom to journalists and activists. "We do not agree the notion of the Special Rapporteur [Yanghee Lee] that democratic space is shrinking as we are of the view that the challenges we are facing today in the area of media and civil society space include striking a balance between rights and responsibilities together with ethnical [sic] reporting and professionalism," read a statement posted to the Facebook account of Hmuu Zaw on Tuesday and attributed to a senior official from the President's Office. The Facebook account of Hmuu Zaw is widely known to be operated by President's Office Director Zaw Htay. The statement went on to defend the recent sentencing of five staff members of the Unity journal to 10 years' imprisonment with hard labor, claiming that the defendants had received a fair trial and insisting that they were put on trial not for merely reporting, but rather for revealing state secrets and on a separate trespassing charge. Regarding Lee's accusations of dire human rights violations in Arakan State, which she visited last week, the President's Office official both commended and admonished the new UN envoy. "We welcome the facts that Ms. Yanghee Lee acknowledged the concerns of the Rakhine [Arakanese] community which was consistently ignored by the previous Special Rapporteur [Tomás Ojea Quintana]. "We encourage Ms. Yanghee Lee to deepen her study to better understand the background and history of this delicate issue," he said, referring to long-running tensions between Arakan State's majority Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims. The President's Office official went on to urge against use of the term Rohingya, which the government does not recognize. Naypyidaw and much of the Arakanese Buddhist community instead calls those who identify as Rohingya "Bengalis," implying that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. "[W]e do not accept the term 'Rohingya' which has never existed in the country's history. … The term has been maliciously used by a group of people with wider political agenda. The people of Myanmar will never recognize the term," he said. The UN envoy, who made her first trip to Burma from July 16-26, has said her use of the term is in keeping with the human rights principle of allowing the minority group to self-identify. Lee on Monday noted positive developments in Burma since President Thein Sein took power in 2011, but also sounded a note of caution. "In three years, Myanmar has come a long way since the establishment of the new Government. This must be recognized and applauded," she said. "Yet, there are worrying signs of possible backtracking which if unchecked could undermine Myanmar's efforts to become a responsible member of the international community that respects and protects human rights." Those signs, according to Lee, included an increasingly intolerant approach to journalists in Burma and civil society activists. "These patterns not only undermine the work of civil society and the media, but also impose a climate of fear and intimidation to the society at large," the special rapporteur said. "The enjoyment of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association and peaceful assembly are essential ingredients for Myanmar's democracy, particularly in the run-up to the 2015 elections," she stated. "There should be strict and clear safeguards to prevent undue interference in public freedoms." The post Govt Disagrees With UN Rights Envoy's Burma Concerns appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Police in Shan State Seize Valuable Haul of Opium, Guns Posted: 29 Jul 2014 02:21 AM PDT Drugs seized by Burmese authorities are burned in a ceremony in Rangoon's Mawbe Township last month. (Photos: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burmese police on Monday seized more than US$2.3 million worth of opium and several automatic weapons in Tachileik, on the Thai-Burmese border in eastern Shan State. The head of a special anti-drug police squad operating in Tachileik Township said officers discovered the cache when they stopped and searched a white pickup truck near Pankaw village. The seizure is part of campaign this month to search more vehicles crossing into Thailand from Shan State, where the production of both opium and methamphetamines is thought to be widespread. "The seizure is the largest this year. We're still investigating the case," the police officer, Aung Kyaw Soe, told The Irrawaddy. He said officers seized 404 blocks of opium weighing a total of more than 140 kilograms, estimating the value of the drugs at 2.26 billion kyat, or more than $2.3 million. The pickup's driver Ah Bi and accomplice Ah Pha were arrested in the bust. They were carrying two M22 handguns, two M16 assault rifles, two .9 mm pistols, a stash of ammunition for each of the weapons, three grenades, three walkie-talkies and 31,000 Thai baht, worth about $1,000, Aung Kyaw Soe said. Beginning July 12, the anti-drug squad has embarked upon a campaign to search vehicles crossing the border, uncovering eight cases of attempted drug trafficking so far. In another large bust on July 19, the squad seized a haul of opium worth more than $200,000, which was discovered along with weapons in a Toyota Hilux Vigo pickup heading to the border at Tachileik. Shan State is the center of drug production in Burma, with a number of armed militias thought to be involved in the production and trafficking of narcotics. A United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report on drug production South East Asia in December 2013 estimated that Burma produced 870 tons of opium last year and remains the largest poppy grower in the world after Afghanistan. The post Police in Shan State Seize Valuable Haul of Opium, Guns appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Emergency Response Teams Deployed on Burma’s ‘Death Highway’ Posted: 29 Jul 2014 01:49 AM PDT Vehicles travel along a stretch of the highway linking Mandalay and Rangoon. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The Burmese government and private tow companies have teamed up to provide emergency services along the Rangoon-Naypyidaw-Mandalay highway, a 386-mile stretch of road macabrely dubbed the "death highway" for the frequent fatalities that have plagued it. The program aims to provide help within five minutes for emergency cases such as automotive accidents or mechanical breakdowns on the expressway, according to Kyi Zaw Myint, a chief highway engineer with the Public Works Department of the Ministry of Construction, at a press conference on Monday. Those who need help can call "1880" and assistance will be dispatched to the scene within five minutes, he said. The program was launched on Monday and will be jointly carried out by government safety personnel and two private companies, Blue Ocean Operation Management Co. and the Forever Group. "Those who need help only have to call 1880 one time," said Tin Ko Ko Win, director of Blue Ocean Operation Management. "Then, 1880 will connect to relevant persons like the police or an ambulance. After the relevant persons are contacted, 1880 will dial the caller back and tell him not to worry and that help is on the way." The 1880 emergency services are expected to be called upon most heavily along the portion of the highway that passes through Pegu Division, which has proven most prone to traffic accidents. Five call centers have been set up, with five more planned. According to the Public Works Department's expressway construction group, road accidents happen most frequently between 2 am and 5 am and 2 pm and 5 pm on the highway, which is trafficked by more than 10,000 vehicles daily. From its 2009 opening through June of this year, the highway has seen more than 370 people killed and more than 1,000 wounded in automotive accidents. The post Emergency Response Teams Deployed on Burma's 'Death Highway' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Military MP Blames Sanctions for Opium Cultivation Posted: 28 Jul 2014 11:39 PM PDT A poppy flower grows at an opium plantation in Shan State. (Photo: Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — A military representative in Parliament's Upper House has blamed Burma's growing opium woes on poverty induced by economic sanctions, according to state-run media. Tuesday's New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that an unnamed military MP claimed rural Burmese continued to cultivate the crop because it offered "easy money" to poor farmers who have felt the sting of economic sanctions imposed by the West. Those sanctions have largely been lifted as relations between the United States, the European Union and Burma have warmed under the administration of reformist President Thein Sein. Despite the increasing economic engagement that the easing of sanctions has brought, opium production has continued to rise. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said in its annual Southeast Asia Opium Survey in December that it expected output of the crop in Burma last year to rise 26 percent over 2012 production, to some 870 metric tons. Burma is the world's second-largest producer of opium, after Afghanistan. The military MP made the remarks in introducing a proposal on Monday "to urge the union government to combat the practice of cultivation, trafficking and abuse of opium with the participation of the people," The New Light of Myanmar reported. It was passed by the Upper House, the newspaper added, without indicating what specific measures, if any, were included in the proposal. The post Military MP Blames Sanctions for Opium Cultivation appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

New Zealand PM Welcomes Burma Reforms, But Constitution an Issue Posted: 28 Jul 2014 10:45 PM PDT New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key speaks at a luncheon in Sydney February 7, 2014. (Photo: Reuters) WELLINGTON — New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Burma's reform process has been "important and progressive," but added that the country's undemocratic Constitution remains an issue. New Zealand was one of the first countries to reengage with Burma after President Thein Sein began initiating sweeping reforms in 2011, and Key visited Burma in November 2012. Thein Sein, on one of his first trips abroad, paid a visit to New Zealand and Australia in March 2013. Key, who will soon begin campaigning for a third term in office, answered a question on Burma's reforms during a press conference in the capital Wellington on Monday. "We will accept that it's not perfect, but it's been important and progressive in terms of what they have done," he said. "We know that there will always be further reasons for debate, and to look at reforms and constitutional issues, but I would say that overall Myanmar is making good progress." "I myself have visited Myanmar and President Thein Sein has been in New Zealand, and I think that a lot of what they are doing is taking important steps," said Key, who will be running in a general election in September. In recent months, concerns have grown over backsliding on reforms in Burma as Aung San Suu Kyi's attempts at amending the Constitution, which gives the army political powers and blocks Suu Kyi from the presidency, have stalled. Meanwhile, outbreaks of inter-communal violence continue, activists are regularly imprisoned and a media clampdown is in full swing. New Zealand is one of Burma's smallest trading partners, but trade has been growing and export of New Zealand dairy products to Burma were valued at US$17.5 million in 2013. It also announced a $5 million dairy farm investment project in the country last year. Kyaw Hsu Mon is attending the Asia Foundation New Zealand's program for reporting on parliament and the 2014 election in New Zealand. The post New Zealand PM Welcomes Burma Reforms, But Constitution an Issue appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Rape Is Not Just a Crime; It Is a Weapon Posted: 28 Jul 2014 05:30 PM PDT Women in Matupi Township, Chin State, demonstrate against rape by Burmese army soldiers. (Photo: Khumi Media Group) On June 10, a soldier from the Burma Army's Light Infantry Battalion 269 allegedly attacked and attempted to rape a 55-year-old woman near Razua, in Chin State's Matupi Township. When about 600 women across two villages staged a demonstration calling for justice in this and similar cases, four of their leaders were charged under the Peaceful Assembly Law. In a normal democratic society, problems are discussed and resolved, but this government is not taking that path. The legal definition of rape varies from one country to another depending on the formal laws or customary practices, and yet the constant composition of rape remains the same—the perpetrator and the victim, or survivor, as feminists would prefer. Some feminists avoid using the term "victim" as it implies that women have no power over their own lives. Some of the worst impacts of rape are that survivors suffer from self-blame, powerlessness, self-rejection, anger, hatred and constant fear, let alone stereotyping and stigmatization by family members and the community. Guns or nuclear and chemical weapons can kill or handicap human beings. But rape can also destroy the physical and psychological welfare of women. We do not have cure like we do for diseases. Women live with fear and stigmatization for the rest of their lives. When men in uniforms exercise their power and commit such crimes, it does not cost a single bullet, it is a free weapon. Worse yet, it is an effective weapon because the government and the military institutions themselves can easily dismiss the allegations by demanding medical evidence of rape from the survivors. With little chance of such evidence being collected immediately after a rape, the survivor is unlikely to have the opportunity to seek fair judgment. One needs to look at how power and rape relate to one another, and how a man can feel empowered to commit sexual assault against a stranger. Rape involves the power relationships between men and women, the poor and the rich, employers and employees, those in military uniforms with weapons and unarmed women. It also involves education and social status, and ethnicity. These socially structured norms and categories make women vulnerable and perpetrators take advantage. Because of these structures, society is more tolerant or even condones sexual violence against women, whereas these crimes should be considered serious crimes and dealt with using a zero tolerance policy. Over the past 10 years, women's organizations along the Thai-Burmese border have documented heart-breaking stories of women who have been raped by the Burmese military, the Tatmadaw, but the cases documented so far represent the tip of the iceberg. The latest documentation on rape cases was by the Women's League of Burma (WLB), which highlighted about 100 alleged rapes that have taken place in ethnic regions since President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government took power in 2011. The surprising fact is that no action has been taken against the perpetrators. Cheery Zahau is a human rights activist from Chin State. (Photo: Cheery Zahau) This failure to investigate the cases; to reform the military's regulations, if there are any, to be more effective; and to make the perpetrators accountable shows two things. First: Thein Sein has no power over the Tatmadaw, and second: the president is unable to bring legal punishment against perpetrators for serious crimes. Let's not forget that for more than six decades, this same institution, the military, governed Burma, setting policies and directly implementing and administering those policies. If they had the political will to stop sexual crimes committed by these perpetrators, they could stop it now. Until now, this crime continues throughout Burma's ethnic states. Because incidents of rape do not randomly occur in one place, rather they occur across the seven ethnic states, the problem is widespread. Rape is also committed where there is a heavy Burmese army presence, and the same pattern continues—it is systematic. Some international legal experts would urge that this is neither systematic nor widespread because the rape incidents did not occur in one place at once and the incidents are not massive in number. Of course, the Burmese army knows what happens to perpetrators where mass rape incidents occur, such as in Rwanda. To me, the Tatmadaw is clever enough to learn that mass rape is too big to be ignored by the government or the international community. After studying rape cases in Chin State or to Chin women since 2005, I constantly ask myself: "Why would a soldier rape a woman in those rural villages who are poor, and often older in age?" "What is it the perpetrators want, to satisfy their sexual desires?" The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) has reported several rape cases in Chin State under the current government, including the recent case in Matupi. And yet, this government responded by arresting people who raise their concerns and dismissing the cases. In previous cases, often it appears that the use of rape is a state-condoned policy. If Thein Sein's government is sincere, there are immediate actions he can take. First, his government should recognize that rape is used against ethnic women by the Tatmadaw soldiers and that legal reform is needed to deal with rape cases, changing the approach of the legal process to look beyond medical evidence and consider the motive, circumstances, power relations and harm to the survivor. Second, courts need to be well-equipped for women when they report rape cases. Let us remember that no woman would want to be raped and report the assault they suffered. Third, during the current peace talks, ending rape against ethnic women should be on the agenda. Only when these actions are taken should we applaud Thein Sein's presidency. Cheery Zahau is a human rights activist from Chin State. The views expressed here are the author's own. The post Rape Is Not Just a Crime; It Is a Weapon appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Why the State ‘Is Still Incredibly Weak’ Posted: 28 Jul 2014 05:00 PM PDT RANGOON — It has no place on official maps, but parts of Myanmar fall within a geographical zone described by some Southeast Asia scholars as Zomia. Stretching across a massive area of Asia, Zomia is considered to be the biggest area in the world that still remains beyond the grasp of traditional nation-states or governments. In Myanmar, this includes the peripheral territories inhabited by ethnic groups that have fought armed conflicts against the central government for decades. American political scientist James C. Scott sparked debate in his anthropological study "The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia" (2009), which contends that the highland people of Zomia were not left behind, but rather consciously chose to avoid the modern state. The award-winning author and Yale University professor spoke with The Irrawaddy's Samantha Michaels after a recent visit to Myanmar, also known as Burma. Question: You argue that hill tribes in Southeast Asia have chosen to live beyond the reach of state-making projects such as taxation, forced labor and war. Can you briefly explain this theory in the context of Myanmar's history? Answer: Many ethnic groups that came to northern Burma over the last 2,000 years fled up the Yangtze River watershed to move away from the expansive Chinese state, and some from Thai and Burmese states, which were all slave-taking states. The hills were not strongly populated 500 or 600 years ago, but they became more populated as the big states expanded and people moved away from slave raids. Q: How would you describe the state-making strategies of President U Thein Sein's administration, compared with those of the former junta? Has the reform process strengthened the Myanmar state? A: The Burmese state is still incredibly weak. If you think of infrastructural power—the ability to collect taxes, to know the land-holding situation, to have complete lists of population and property holdings, to have a police presence everywhere—you're not talking about the Burmese government. You could argue—I'm not sure I want to, but at least it's worth considering—that the government is less coherent now than it might have been 10 years ago. It has "all thumbs and no fingers," meaning it has crude military power but not the fine-tuning power of a successful administrative state. My guess is that the president and his closest cooperatives have bought room to make small compromises with the rest of the military, given the military's interest in controlling the economy, by allowing regional military commanders to more or less have a free hand in seizing land and enterprises. They've turned a blind eye toward corruption and land seizures in the regions. It's the condition, I suppose, of the little democratic opening we have now in Burma, but it's a kind of feudalism, it makes the government more fragmented. I think if the government were to seriously address the land seizures, it would find itself with a military revolt. Q: Myanmar's census this year—the country's first census in over 30 years—was highly controversial, especially among ethnic minorities who accused the government of incorrectly classifying them. What was your take on the situation? A: The census in 1931 also identified ethnic groups, but on the basis of the "language spoken to the cradle," that is to say, the James C. Scott: "Identities are extremely flexible." (Photo: Reuters) language the mother spoke to her children in the cradle. The director of that census, a good little bureaucrat, did his job, but at the end he said it was crazy because people in Burma change their language as often as we change our clothes. Of course that's not literally true, but the fact is that people in the hills speak two, three, four, sometimes five languages, and each language is useful in a particular situation. They have a portfolio of potential identities they can display. The point is that a census gives false solidity to identities that are extremely flexible. Decisions about classifying ethnic groups are political. Q: Would it make sense for Myanmar to conduct a census without classifying ethnic groups? A: It would be politically impossible in the sense that any kind of federalism that would be created in Burma would take account of some conception of cultural groups. [It would] require administrative units coinciding roughly with major cultural divisions. I'm not against the census, I might add, I just want to point out how political it is.… It's a [state] capacity. It's not morally bad or good, it depends how it's used. Q: On your recent visit to Myanmar, you gave talks at the Yangon School of Political Science and Pansodan Gallery. What else did you do? A: I went to Pathein and spent three weeks working with a tutor every day, all day, on Burmese language skills. Then I went to the literary festival in Mandalay—Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and a whole series of poets were there. I also spent a couple days in the deep delta. I'm deeply interested in the Ayeyarwady River—I'm sort of a canoeist here. Q: Are you working on any projects in Myanmar now? A: There was something called the Bulletin of Burma Research that was started in 1905 by colonial civil servants. Anthropologists, linguists and historians met every month and read papers to each other, a number of Burmese became involved later, and it became the central place for Burmese studies locally. It was closed by the military government in 1979. Now we would like to restart an academic journal that would be controversial and open to amateurs as well as professional scholars. We [Mr. Scott and U Tun Myint, a Myanmar political scientist in the United States] have the money to begin this. Q: How are your Myanmar language studies coming along? A: I've been studying for about six or seven years but only a month and a half every year. I've learned a lot of different languages in my life, and Burmese is the hardest. I think you shouldn't study a country unless you're willing to learn the language, because you learn a lot by understanding how the language works, why certain turns of phrases are important. It's a mark of cultural respect. I have trouble following closely when a lot of Burmese people speak at the same time—I get the drift but it's difficult—and that's the kind of thing that you only develop by working within the country and having the language in your ear all the time. This interview first appeared in the July 2014 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. The post Why the State 'Is Still Incredibly Weak' appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Abu Sayyaf Gunmen Kill 21 Filipinos in Road Attack Posted: 28 Jul 2014 10:06 PM PDT Philippine police chief Director General Jesus Verzosa studies a poster of Abu Sayyaf militants in Manila on Feb. 25, 2010. (Photo: Reuters / Erik de Castro) MANILA — Abu Sayyaf gunmen attacked Filipino civilians traveling to celebrate the end of Ramadan with their families on Monday, killing 21, including at least six children, in a brazen road attack that was the bloodiest in recent years by the violent militant group, police and military officials said. Eleven other civilians were wounded as the group traveled in two vans in a coastal village in Talipao town in predominantly Muslim Sulu Province, where the militants have survived in jungle camps despite years of US-backed Philippine military offensives. About 40 to 50 Abu Sayyaf militants armed with assault rifles opened fire on the vans, marine Brig- Gen Martin Pinto and other military officials said. The motive was not immediately clear, but Pinto said some of the dead belonged to a civilian security force and were engaged in a clan feud with the Abu Sayyaf. Violent clan wars, known as "rido," have complicated security worries in the country's south, which is already mired in decades-long Muslim rebellions. Officials said they were pursuing the militants after the attack, but there’s no word yet if any of them have been killed or captured. Among those killed in the attack were at least four members of a Talipao civilian security force called Barangay Police Action Team that has been helping the military fight the jungle-based militants in recent months, Pinto said. Armed forces spokesman Lt-Col Ramon Zagala condemned "this heinous atrocity that victimized innocent civilians," adding that the military "will continue its pursuit operations until those responsible are brought to justice." "This attack cannot be justified by any ideology and shows the Abu Sayyaf's terroristic nature," Zagala said. Six of the dead were aged 2 to 15 and four of the wounded are children, including a 3-year-old boy, police and military reports showed. An 83-year-old man was among the dead. Authorities did not discuss the victims' family ties, but their surnames suggest many of the dead and wounded were related. The Abu Sayyaf, which has about 300 armed fighters split into several factions, was organized in the early 1990s, but has been crippled by government operations and endures largely by conducting ransom kidnappings. It now holds about 10 hostages, including two German tourists seized in April and two birdwatchers, one Dutch and the other Swiss, who were kidnapped two years ago. The Abu Sayyaf is one of about four smaller Muslim insurgent groups outside of a peace deal signed by the Philippine government in March with the main rebel group, the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front that calls for the creation of a more powerful and potentially larger autonomous region for minority Muslims in the south of the largely Roman Catholic country. Sulu, about 950 km (590 miles) south of Manila, is one of the country's poorest provinces. The post Abu Sayyaf Gunmen Kill 21 Filipinos in Road Attack appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Philippines Welcomes Its 100 Millionth Citizen Posted: 28 Jul 2014 09:59 PM PDT Dailin Duras Cabigayan, 27, smiles as she cradles her newly born baby girl, Chonalyn, as government health officials present her with a cake and clothing as the 100 millionth baby born into the Philippines' population. (Photo: Reuters / Romeo Ranoco) MANILA, Philippines — Philippine officials welcomed the birth Sunday of their country's 100 millionth citizen with a cake, hope and concerns about how their poor Southeast Asian nation can help ensure a decent life for its swelling population. A baby girl named Chonalyn was born shortly after midnight at the government-run Jose Fabella hospital in Manila, pushing the country's estimated population to the milestone figure, said Juan Antonio Perez III, executive director of the Commission on Population. Wrapped in a blanket and pink bonnet and cradled by her beaming mother, Chonalyn was showered with a cake, infant clothes and other gifts by health and population commission officials at a hospital ceremony. "We are faced with the challenge of providing for all 100 million Filipinos," Perez said. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said the milestone offers both challenges and opportunities to the Philippines, which is the world's 12th most populous country and has one of Asia's fastest-growing populations. "It is important to emphasize that population is not merely a matter of numbers, but of human rights and opportunities," said Klaus Beck, the UNFPA's Philippines representative. With 54 percent of its population under the age of 25, the Philippines needs to provide the young with education, job opportunities and skills, Beck said. Nearly half of the country's people live in cities as more Filipinos migrate from rural areas to look for better opportunities elsewhere, fostering problems such as trafficking in girls and women that have to be addressed, he said. In the poorest areas, women bear more children than they desire because of a lack of access to reproductive health information and services, Beck said. President Benigno Aquino III signed a law in 2012 that directs government health centers to provide free access to nearly all contraceptives to everyone, particularly the poor, but its enforcement was delayed amid strong opposition from the dominant Roman Catholic church. In April, the Supreme Court declared that the law was constitutional and gave the government the OK to enforce it. The post Philippines Welcomes Its 100 Millionth Citizen appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Kerry to Woo Modi’s India, But Quick Progress Unlikely Posted: 28 Jul 2014 09:50 PM PDT US Secretary of State John Kerry. (Photo: Reuters) WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State John Kerry travels to India this week as Washington tries to revitalize ties it sees as a counterbalance to China's rising power, but rapid progress is unlikely, despite the reformist reputation of India's new leader. The visit by Kerry and a trip by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel next month follow the resounding election win of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May and are meant to create a good climate for Modi's planned visit to Washington in September. Analysts said it would only be once Modi meets President Barack Obama that the United States may have a more realistic hope for progress on big defense projects, on removing obstacles to US firms' participation in India's nuclear power industry, and for firmer statements of shared interests in Asia. In a speech in Washington on Monday, Kerry said it was "a potentially transformative moment" for the US-India partnership, which had "not yet always fully blossomed." He reiterated Obama's support for India's bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and added: "This is the moment to transform our strategic partnership into an historical partnership that honors our places as great powers and great democracies." Four years ago, Obama declared the US-India relationship would be "one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century" and last week the State Department called it one of "enormous strategic importance." But while the two countries are in many ways natural allies, as big democracies with shared concerns about Islamist militancy and the rise of China, the relationship falls far short of Obama's rhetorical billing. Disputes over protectionism and intellectual property rights have soured the business climate and India has remained cautious about committing to US strategic designs, given concerns that US power, eroded by domestic budget battles, may be waning. The relationship took a dive last year after an Indian diplomat was arrested in New York on charges of mistreating her domestic help, an episode that provoked outrage and resentment in New Delhi. Modi, whose Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party swept to an overwhelming victory after years of shaky Indian coalitions, has yet to make clear how closely he plans to work with Washington. The potential for tension was always high. He was banned from visiting the United States after Hindu mobs killed more than 1,000 people, most of the Muslims, in 2002 while he was chief minister of his home state of Gujarat. The Obama administration sought to turn a new page by quickly inviting Modi to Washington after his election, and was pleased by his prompt positive response. Kerry will be heading the US team at the annual Strategic Dialogue with India on Thursday, and will be accompanied by US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. Modi Mystery The BJP has a strong streak opposed to Western dominance of world affairs and this meshes with the rise of the BRICS block of five powerful emerging nations, which includes China, that see themselves as a counterbalance to US hegemony. One of Modi's first moves on the world stage since taking office was to sign up to a BRICS development bank intended to wrest control over global financial institutions away from the United States and Europe. On Friday, India threatened to block a worldwide reform of customs rules agreed last December, prompting a US warning that its demands on food stockpiling could kill global trade reform. The deadline for agreeing the trade facilitation deal falls during Kerry's time in New Delhi and a failure to overcome India's objections could overshadow his visit. The Indian stance has fueled doubts about the extent of Modi's commitment to pushing through economic reforms seen as necessary to spur growth and attract investment. US officials say Modi's first budget contained some positive signs. But ownership limits in the defense sector were not relaxed enough to allow US companies the controlling stakes they seek in joint ventures, which will make them reluctant to share technology India craves. Nisha Biswal, US assistant secretary of state for South Asia, spoke this month of the US desire for Indian growth and its greater involvement in Southeast and East Asia, where China's territorial claims have caused increasing alarm. India, which for decades had close military links with the Soviet Union while leading the world non-aligned movement, is cautious about being too closely associated with US strategic policy, not least because of its economic links with China. The post Kerry to Woo Modi's India, But Quick Progress Unlikely appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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